


Camp Red Feather

by Simpatico73



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:11:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7621483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simpatico73/pseuds/Simpatico73
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU.  Veronica and Mac work as camp counselors for the summer.  Veronica is less than pleased with the leader of the boys group.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Camp Red Feather

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the VM Headquarters and VM Fic Recs Summer Lovin' Fic Challenge.

The counselors’ cabins at Camp Red Feather did not aim to impress.

There were two single beds to a room, wooden, bolted to the floor, each boasting a one-inch thick mattress with questionable stains. Under the bedframes were three built-in drawers that meant to contain one’s belongings for an entire summer. The two windows on the back wall were adorned with dead bug carcasses older than Veronica herself. Brown water dripped a slow beat from the sink on the right wall and a general mildewy smell permeated the small space.

“Come work at camp with me, it’ll be so much fun…” Veronica mocked her companion in a singsong voice. She was promptly nudged in the back to shush.

“I’ll let you pick your bed. Left or right?”

“Left. Closer to the door.”

Mac threw her backpack down on the bed to the right. “Not that I don’t completely agree with how much this place sucks, but you need to stiff upper lip it here, Veronica. It’s going to be a long summer if you don’t.”

“Sorry. You’re right. No more complaining for at least five minutes.” Veronica opened her suitcase and started unpacking her clothes into the drawers.

“Knock. Knock.”

The girls looked up to see the head counselor, Garrett, looking chipper in the doorway. He was tall, 6’1” Veronica guessed, with light blue eyes and wavy black hair held back from his face by some sort of thin, brown rope thingy. He was very handsome in a wholly earthy way. He probably knew the names of all the wild berries in the woods and which ones would kill you.

“Hey, Garrett.”

“Hi, Mac, good to see you again.” He stepped inside and shut the screen door.

“Yeah. I’ve finally graduated from camper to counselor. I feel like I’ve reached the pinnacle.” Mac high-fived him in jest.

“Well, we’re glad to have you. Thanks for filling in for Gretchen and Carly. It was an unfortunate accident.”

Veronica’s ears perked up as she finished unpacking. “Accident?”

Garrett turned to her. “Um, hi. Veronica, right?”

“That’s what my friends call me.”

He gave her a funny look and said, “Yeah. They were rock climbing and things didn’t go well. Gretchen ended up with a broken leg and Carly broke three ribs and her arm.”

Veronica shot Mac a look of panic. “We’re not going to have to rock climb are we?”

“No. We can stay on solid ground,” Mac assured her.

“Whew. I thought I was going to have to repack my freshly unpacked suitcase and devise my escape plan.”

Garrett sat down next to Mac on her bed. “Rock climbing can be a total adrenalin rush. Don’t rule it out yet. Mac and I still have to show you all that Camp Red Feather has to offer. We spend the next two days getting to know the other counselors and preparing the camp.” He rose and walked to the door. “First camp meeting is in an hour at the flagpole.”

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Veronica sat down on the rocks by the flagpole with the other counselors. In addition to Garrett, there were eight women and eight guys, all college aged. Most of them knew each other from previous years and were busy catching up and reconnecting. In her brief assessment of the counselors, she noticed the majority of them were rugged, outdoorsy types who looked as if they’d just stepped out of a Patagonia catalogue. She looked down at her old converse sneakers and cutoff shorts and felt more than a little out of place. There was one guy with spiky brown hair, sort of off by himself. He didn’t entirely fit in with the granola crunchers, either. When she noticed him, he gave her a little smile and bobbed his eyebrows. In response, she stuck her tongue out like a five-year-old causing him to hoot in laughter.

Garrett had the counselors stand and introduce themselves to the group and then went over the rules. Safety of the children was paramount. He reviewed water safety (both swimming and boating), zipline safety, hiking safety, biking safety, horseback riding safety, archery safety, BB gun safety, rock climbing safety, and rappelling safety.

Mac chuckled at Veronica’s look of terror. Veronica knew she was dreadful with children; she didn’t particularly like them and was _not_ cut out to make sure one of them didn’t die. She should have secured a summer job that played to her strengths; she knew how to solve mysteries, earn straight A’s, and bake cookies.

“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the age assignments.”

Mac whispered to Veronica, “We all get assigned to a certain age group for the summer. The best group is 9-11. All the rest have issues. The 6–8’s cry a lot, the 15 and over’s require strict supervision so no one ends up pregnant, and the 12-14’s are an awkward, crazy, hormonal mess.”

Garrett read from his list: “Colin and Jorge, 15 and over boys. Hope and Christina, 15 and over girls. Logan and Troy, boys 12-14. Mac and Veronica, girls 12-14. Owen and Drew, boys 9-11. Ava and Sofia, girls 9-11. Sam and Tristen, boys 6-8. Lindsey and Mia, girls 6-8.”

There were a few cheers and more than a few groans at the end of the announcement.

“I suggest each of you meet with the counselors in your age group so you can come up with some joint activities to get the boys and girls together. Age groups will eat lunch together. You will be responsible for them for most of the day, from right after breakfast until just before dinner. Try to get to bed early cause the days are long. On the plus side, there is a daily break from 4:00 – 7:00 and your evening responsibilities end at 9:00.

“This is the point in the orientation where I warn you about the dangers of fraternization. It is not against the rules for counselors to have romantic relationships. But I want to strongly caution you that if anything unsavory happens in front of the campers, it will be grounds for immediate dismissal. ‘Nuff said.”

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

The girls threw open the door to their cabin and collapsed on their respective beds, too tired to change or go to the counselor’s bathroom to brush their teeth. After cleaning all of the cabins, bathrooms, and camp kitchen, they were completely wiped out.

“Uggh,” Veronica groaned.

“I second that.”

“UGGH.”

Mac laughed. “It gets better. Well, sort of. Depends on if you’d rather clean all day or take care of kids.”

Veronica buried her head underneath her pillow. “And we get the hormonal ones.”

“I’d say we pulled the second best age. Trust me, you do _not_ want the older teens. They sneak off into each other’s cabins, the woods, the lake. Then the parents get really mad and yell at you.”

Veronica lifted her head off the bed and grinned at Mac. “And did you do any sneaking off when you were a camper here, Miss Mackenzie?”

“There may have been a time or two,” she said, smiling up at the ceiling.

Veronica mocked outrage. “You’ve been holding out on me. I want details!”

“Later. Right now we need sleep.”

“Okay, but I’m not gonna forget and it’s a long summer.”

“One note of warning, Veronica. If you think the campers are hormonal, wait till you see what goes on with the counselors.”

“Lots of high-fiber, low-fat, Birkenstock wearin’ sex?”

“Yep. All over the place. It’s a summer-long party every night. That’s why the counselors stay so far away from the main camp.”

“And do you have your eyes on anyone in particular for some rustic camp sexin’?”

Mac threw her pillow at Veronica. “Not yet. And how about you? Maybe it’s time you finally got over-“

Veronica interrupted her. “Maybe.”

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked me about Logan.” Mac finished applying sunscreen and packed her backpack with a beach towel, sunglasses, and a book.

Veronica threw her cover up on over her bikini. “Why, is he special?”

Mac looked at her in disbelief. “You’ve never heard of Logan Echolls?”

“Wait. Echolls? As in… Aaron?”

“The one and only.”

Veronica had always kept her mind on her studies and work; Hollywood gossip never meant much to her but she would’ve had to have been living under a rock to not know the story of Logan Echolls. Murdered girlfriend, famous actor dad jailed for life. It was a few years back but she knew the main points, all right.

“What’s he doing here?”

“He comes every summer with the Vandegraffs. He and Troy have been best friends since they were little. My family and his have never been here the same week so it’s the first time I’m meeting them, too. But camp gossip flies around and it doesn’t matter which week you come, everyone knows about Logan. I guess he finally graduated from camper to counselor like me.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah. And Logan and Troy got the 12-14 boys so we’ll be seeing _a lot_ of them.”

“Huh.”

Mac punched her lightly in the arm. “Wow. You’re usually much more verbose. Something on your mind?”

“No. It’s just… I think he was sort of flirting with me yesterday.”

Mac broke out into a huge, double-dimpled grin. “Good. Flirt back.”

“Not happening, Mackenzie. After what happened with Casey, I don’t need a rich boyfriend.”

“Who said anything about boyfriend? It’s summer camp. Have a fling.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Relax. We’re 19, we’re single, and we’re surrounded by hot guys. This is why I told you to come here. There’s no escaping Red Feather without hooking up. It’s statistically impossible.”

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Sometime during week three, Logan greeted Veronica at breakfast one morning with a nod as he sat across from her. “Mars.”

Veronica had come to the conclusion that he was a grade-A asshole. She formed that opinion pretty quickly held fast to it. He was constantly scheming to have his boys group infiltrate the girls and ruin their carefully planned activities. He would challenge them to contests and call them chicken if they didn’t want to compete. He freely spewed dating advice to the impressionable young men and behaved like an oversized cupid for the young teens. He encouraged the boys who were inclined to the idea to find a girl in Veronica’s group to “date” for the week and then allowed them to spend time together loosely supervised.

Mac found him both amusing and irritating, depending on the day. Veronica was firmly in the latter camp. Because of his machinations, the girls begged Mac and Veronica to have all of their activities with the boys. They shed tears and moped if they were denied. So, they relented, and spent their days trying to keep the boys and girls from having any type of physical contact while Logan and Troy encouraged the opposite, treating the romances of the 12-14 year olds in their care as their own personal form of entertainment. They gossiped with the boys and developed activities that would match the boys with the girls they liked. It was juvenile and ridiculous.

“Echolls.”

“I sense you don’t like me very much,” he said, taking a bite of oatmeal.

She put her toast down. “Why, whatever gave you that idea? Was it my general air of disdain, perhaps?”

He smirked at her. “Perhaps.” He took another bite. “It seems to me that you and Camp Red Feather are not a match made in heaven.”

She snorted at him. “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

“You know, if you ever decide to stop being such a hard-ass bitch, you might have some fun.”

She immediately felt her cheeks flame red. “Since we’re surrounded by happy families, I am not going to say what I really want to say right now,” she spat out, “but I’ll let you guess what I’m thinking.”

“Does it rhyme with duck moo?”

“Bingo.”

“Seriously, Veronica. Can’t you try to lighten up? You act like a strict schoolmarm. Do you forget what it was like to be thirteen and in love?”

“I was never in love at thirteen.”

He cocked his head. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“ _Excuse_ me? Who the _hell_ do you think-“ her voice started to rise and he grabbed her hand and looked around at the families nearby and smiled.

“ _Someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed today folks, sorry.” He smiled sheepishly and turned back to Veronica who was busy putting her breakfast on her tray and moving to leave. He squeezed her hand.

“Wait. Please. Let me explain.”

She shook her hand free. “I’m not interested in your explanations and I _don’t_ have to eat breakfast with you. I’m already stuck with you every minute of the day and have to pretend that you don’t annoy the hell out of me. I’ll finish eating by the lake in peace.”

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

He left her alone - for the most part - for the next week. He and Mac started hanging out; they both loved sailing and had taken a sailboat out on the lake together a few times. Logan would always invite Veronica but she always declined.

When Veronica asked Mac about her thoughts on Logan, she would always get the same response. “He’s not as bad as you think. He’s just had a complicated life. You two have that in common.”

In her downtime, Veronica would often hike down to the dock on the far side of the lake, where the campers weren’t allowed to go, dip her toes in the water and lie back and look at the sky. She came at night a few times to see the stars and escape the wild counselor parties. Mac wasn’t lying about the parties. Veronica marveled at the amount of sex happening around her. Fresh mountain air was apparently a strong aphrodisiac.

One night during week five, she was doing some star gazing and thinking about what went wrong with Casey when she heard a noise in the dark behind her. Freezing in fear, she grabbed her flashlight and cursed herself for not bringing her taser to camp. She swung the light back down the dock and found Logan there emerging from the path through the woods.

“God, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know you were here. I mean, I wasn’t sure… I hoped you were.”

“Why? Go back and drink with the others. I’m claiming this dock and you are _not_ invited.”

He walked to the end of the dock and sat down next to her. “You sure do have a way about you, Veronica. A real charmer.”

“Fuck off, Logan.”

“Ah, and so sweet, too.”

“FUCK OFF, LOGAN!”

He just laughed and sat there. “No. I didn’t hike all the way down here just to go back without…”

“Without what?”

“Well, without talking to you.”

“We’ve talked. Mission accomplished. Now go away.”

“God, you really are a bitch,” he said softly, almost to himself.

“You know what? You don’t know anything about me!” Veronica picked up her flashlight and grabbed her shoes. “I don’t think I can spend the next two months with you. I’m going to ask Garrett if I can switch to one of the other groups.”

He still looked amused, damn him. “I see. I know Garrett pretty well and I can tell you he never lets anyone switch.”

“It’s worth asking. I guess I’ll leave then, since you won’t.”

Logan put his hand on Veronica’s thigh to prevent her from getting up. “Can you just stop for a second? I owe you an apology.”

She peeled his hand off her leg. “Save it. I’m just a strict schoolmarm, right? An uptight bitch. Why’d you even come down here anyway?”

He looked into her eyes. “I came here to apologize for calling you a bitch but now-“

“Now you’ve done it twice so I think I’m pretty clear on how you feel about me.”

“I don’t think you’re at _all_ clear on how I feel about you,” he said, exasperated.

“Enlighten me then.”

He kicked his feet in the water and sighed. “I think you forget what it feels like to have your first kiss.” She bristled at that and he continued. “I also think you’re smart and gorgeous and interesting. You’re a masterful friendship bracelet maker and the best shot I’ve seen at the gun range. And, yes, sometimes you’re uptight and bitchy. But mostly just the first three. And I wonder what’s happened to you to make you so unhappy and whether you want to talk about it. Cause I happen to know a lot about having a shitty life.”

“You think I’m unhappy?” she asked defensively.

“Maybe? I don’t know… I could be way off. You could just be naturally surly. But sometimes I see you laughing with Mac and I think… that’s the real you. D’you want to talk about it?”

Veronica was stunned for a minute at his assessment of her. When she found her voice, she held on to her indignation. “No, but thanks for the offer. I don’t go pouring my heart out to strangers who think I’m an uptight bitch.”

Logan grabbed her hand. “For God’s sake, Veronica, did you not hear what I just said? I said you’re smart, gorgeous, and interesting.”

“Um, thanks? Unfortunately something tells me you’ve said those exact words to many-a-girl before me.” She dismissed him and looked up at the sky.

“I haven’t and I can prove I mean what I say.” He grabbed her left hand with his right and reached across to cup her jaw with his left hand. She felt a rush go through her. “Trust me, I can prove it if you’ll let me.” He licked his lips and slowly leaned in and just as his lips were about to meet hers, she turned her head away and stood up abruptly.

“I’ve gotta go,” she said, throwing her shoes on and bolting down the dock, starting up the dark path through the woods.

She heard him call out, “Wait. Let me go with you. It’s dark and-“ His voice trailed off as she ran away.

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Veronica had taken the path back from the lake two times before in the dark. She was supposed to turn left at the first fork and then right at the next two forks to get to the counselors area. The walk was usually just ten minutes through the woods. After fifteen minutes of walking and no cabins in sight, she became worried. After another ten minutes of walking, she started to panic.

She cursed herself for not walking back with Logan. For her usual headstrong ways that didn’t coincide with safety. She’d been concentrating on his astute observations and obviously missed one of the forks. But which one? He’d rattled her, and now it was his fault she was lost. She couldn’t see anything - only trees. And only those trees that were four inches in front of her face. The rest was just blackness. With each passing minute, she grew quite simply, terrified. Veronica had never felt fear like this. She’d gone toe-to-toe with myriad bad guys and not batted an eyelash. But ominous noises in a dark forest were something altogether different.

She sat down on a log because she remembered hearing somewhere that if you get lost in the woods, the best course of action is to stop walking. To wait for help or daylight or something. But she was freezing and the thought of sitting through the night in what she was wearing, shorts and a t-shirt, made her want to cry.

When she didn’t come back would Mac think she was with one of the other counselors? She wondered which one Mac would think she was with. That was, of course, if Mac even noticed she was missing. She was flirting pretty heavily with Garrett when Veronica took off for the dock, a match Veronica wholeheartedly approved of. Opposite as they were, there were enough similarities to keep their relationship harmonious. Garrett was a solid, responsible leader and Veronica respected him for many of the same reasons she respected Mac. He offered sound advice and had a quiet air of authority.

For the past few weeks Veronica feared Mac had a crush on Logan but she could see now that it was just a friendship. He teased her like a big brother. For the thousandth time, Veronica wondered what Mac saw in Logan. She knew it wasn’t his fame; Mac would never care about something so trivial. And Mac’s judge of character was usually spot-on.

God, Logan. What was she supposed to do now? He tried to smooth-talk his way into kissing her and, damn him, almost succeeded. She hadn’t kissed anyone since Casey and that was almost two years ago. After his year-long persecution of her and subsequent stalking charge, Veronica wasn’t interested in pursuing any romantic relationships. He messed with her head and she still wasn’t over it.

That’s what this summer was supposed to be, she thought miserably. A way to finally let it go and move on. She knew Mac and her dad conspired to get her out of Neptune and the counselors’ jobs conveniently opened up at just the right time. Her dad thought it’d be a safe, wholesome summer job far away from danger. She looked around and laughed. Safe, my ass.

The sounds were freaking her out. Every rustle of leaves caused her to fling the beam of her flashlight into the vast darkness, sure she was going to meet with the eyes of a hungry bear intent on making a meal of her. Like a fool, she left her whistle back in the cabin. Her teeth were beginning to chatter as the temperature dropped. She guessed it had been an hour since she left the dock. Was Logan still there looking at the stars and psychoanalyzing her?

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Another half-hour passed and Veronica felt she couldn’t wait anymore. She knew the lake was at the bottom of the mountain and from there, she could stay on the lake trail all the way to the main camp. The only thing she needed to do was walk downhill and eventually, she’d get there. Doing nothing was absolutely not in her nature. She couldn’t wait to be eaten or freeze to death. She started walking back the way she came - at least, she thought it was the way she came.

As it turns out, hiking downhill on a dark, wooded path is even more dangerous than going uphill. Not long after she started, she ended up tripping on an exposed root and fell, twisting her ankle in the process. She gripped it in pain and, finally, the tears came. Veronica was not a crier – she estimated it had been about a year since she last cried over anything and even when she did cry, it was a brief display of emotion. 

So it figured that the last person she would want to see when she was injured and crying in the woods happened to almost fall over her in the dark.

He knelt down to her and ran his hand over her hair. “God, Veronica. Oh my God. I was so worried. We’ve all been looking for you for the last hour. Hold on.”

Logan picked up his walkie talkie and radioed Garrett. “Hey man, I found her over by the top of Scenic View Trail. It’s a long walk back and I think she’s hurt her leg. I’m gonna take her to the caretaker’s cottage for the night. We’re only about a half-mile from there. If she can’t walk in the morning, I’ll radio for help.”

Logan’s flashlight lit up her face for a second and then he put it down and wrapped his arms around her, comforting.

“Hey. Come here. You’re okay. Come here.”

He spoke softly to her and held her close as she buried her face into his chest, repeating over and over, “Shh. It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.”

Veronica was thankful for the solid wall of his chest more than she’d ever been thankful for anything in her entire life. When she was all cried out, she was embarrassed to note the big wet spot on his t-shirt. Annoying as he was, she was truly grateful to him for saving her.

He hoisted her up piggy-back style and she held on tightly while he led them the short way to the caretaker’s cottage. Logan was being careful not to jostle her or brush her sore ankle against the trees but the path was narrow so it was slow going. Veronica wondered who the caretaker was and whether he would mind them staying the night.

She spoke tentatively. “Thanks for finding me. I didn’t really think anyone would notice I was missing. Maybe Mac but she was with Garrett and-“

“You kidding me? I went looking for you right away. I followed after you but you must have already missed one of the turns. I knew you were lost as soon as I made it back to the camp and you weren’t there. That’s when we got some search teams together.”

“Where’s your partner?”

“I didn’t want one. I cover more ground alone. I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Garrett knows that. That’s why he was cool with me just bringing the walkie talkie.”

“Okay. Well, thanks for looking for me.”

“Of course.”

They walked a bit in silence. Veronica was increasingly aware of the sheer physical size of him. He dwarfed her. She felt like a little kid on his back. The thought made her self-conscious, something Veronica wasn’t used to feeling. This entire camp counselor experience had her feeling like a fish out of water. She couldn’t wait to get back to Neptune where she could be herself.

As the silence dragged on, she wished Logan would do some chitchatting to help with the awkwardness of the situation but then she realized she was the one who ran away from him and caused all this mess, so he was probably well within his rights to keep his thoughts to himself.

She tried to break the ice. “Know any good jokes?”

“I’m not in a joking mood right now.”

“Okay. Look, I’m sorry if I ruined your night.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. I’m just waiting for my heart to start beating normally. I was really fucking worried.”

“Why?”

“Um, because I didn’t want you to _die_.”

“Yeah, life’s more fun when you have someone to insult. At least that’s what my ex-boyfriend thinks.” She regretted her comment immediately. It was a shitty thing to say and she knew it.

“I have half a mind to drop you right here and wish you the best.” He was definitely pissed now. “I didn’t want to save you because I like insulting you. I saved you because I _like_ you. And you’re a human being with whom I have spent a lot of time over the last month and it would be a real shame if a bear or some coyotes killed you.”

She rested her forehead on the top of his shoulder. “I apologize. It’s just been a long night. I didn’t even mean it, I don’t know why I said it.”

“You’re forgiven,” he said softly and she believed him.

They reached the caretaker’s cottage and it was not at all what Veronica was expecting. Apparently, the caretaker must have died a century or two ago because the “cottage” was nothing more than a few falling down stone walls in the shape of a square with a fireplace. There was no roof and the floor of the “cottage” consisted of dirt and grass. There was a cabinet next to the fireplace with some blankets and pillows so maybe Red Feather campers came here? She wasn’t going to question it.

“I’m going to go find some logs to get a fire started. I brought a lighter so we should be okay.”

Veronica nodded and sat down and bent her sore leg so she could take off her shoe. She winced in pain as she pulled it off and looked at her ankle. It was significantly swollen and tender to the touch. She was looking at a few days of crutches for sure. When Logan came back and started the fire, Veronica moved as close as she could without getting burned. He urged her to lay back on the blankets and pillows and took her foot into his lap.

She raised an eyebrow and he merely said, “You need to elevate it above your heart to get the swelling down.”

“Oh, thanks.”

His hands were warm on her calf where he cradled her leg to him. He was brushing his fingers back and forth lightly and she shivered from the sensation. He seemed to realize the effect he had on her because his lips quirked and his hands moved fractionally northward.

He cleared his throat. “Let me tell you about my life. My dad beat me and had sex with and then murdered my girlfriend, who cheated on me repeatedly and yet was the love of my life. My mom still struggles with drugs and alcohol and is in and out of rehab and I have a half-sister that I never see. There’s my life in two sentences. Your turn.”

He kept rubbing and it kept feeling better and better. She was afraid if she refused his request he would stop the magic he was working on her leg.

“My ex-boyfriend and love of my life broke up with me for no reason after two years of dating and then proceeded to make my life hell by verbally abusing and stalking me. He did some scary stuff and is now in jail serving a one-year sentence after which I will have to apply for a restraining order, possibly forever.”

He absorbed her story for a minute, nodded, then looked at her and raised his eyebrows in challenge. “Mine’s worse.”

She laughed at that because she couldn’t disagree. “Yeah, it is. Honestly, I don’t know anyone whose story is as bad as yours.”

“Well, I thought that, too, for a long time but some expensive therapy helped me get over myself and stop wallowing in self-pity.”

His hands were now on her knee, his fingers tickling the sensitive skin on the back and she giggled.

“Here’s a question: Why are you so hell bent on hooking up our campers? Don’t you think they’re too young?”

“God, Veronica. I don’t want them to 'hook up.' But I know what it’s like to want to hold a girl’s hand for the first time or have a first kiss. Some of them are too young and some of them are ready. I try to help the ones who show interest. That’s all. I’m not encouraging them to do more than kiss, and if they did they’d have hell to pay. You may not know this but Troy and I have a very important talk we give our boys about being gentlemen and respecting boundaries.”

His hand had crept up to massage her lower thigh and she wondered what boundary her leg might have. Was there an invisible line on her mid-thigh that he wouldn’t cross?

“I can see the question on your face and yes, there are several lines I won’t cross with you, as I try to be as gentlemanly as possible with my co-workers.”

She snorted at that. There were many times when she observed Logan being less than gentlemanly when he was talking with his guy friends. “Oh, I see. I’m just a co-worker, huh?”

“Yes. And one with an obscenely awful sense of direction, you poor thing.”

She kicked him with her good leg and he grunted but kept rubbing.

“And do you give all of your co-workers lower thigh massages?”

“No, just the injured ones.”

“And what would you do if my injury was elsewhere. Upper thigh, perhaps?”

He looked at her, the lust clear on his face in the firelight. “Ah, well, I could show you if I wasn’t such a gentleman.”

She knew he was challenging her and she accepted. “And what if I asked you to show me?”

His hands stopped rubbing for a second and he took a deep breath. “A gentleman always does what a lady wants,” he smirked at her.

“Logan, show me.”

His hands moved up and deliciously rubbed the top of her sore leg. Her thigh muscles quickly relaxed under his skillful hands and she sighed and rested her head back on the pillow, looking up at the stars. She forgot all about her sore ankle, forgot about everything but the feeling of his hands on her, warming her skin, making her blaze from the inside.

“Does the lady have any other injuries that require attention?” he asked, voice husky with want.

“I think I, um, hurt my chest when I fell.” She barely kept a straight face when she said it but this doctor thing was actually pretty hot and it seemed to be working for both of them.

“Well, lucky you, that’s one of my specialties.” He pushed her t-shirt up to expose her bra. It was light blue with a pink bow in the middle. With a quick flick of his fingers, his warm hand exposed her right breast and completely covered it. She felt her nipple harden on his palm. He repeated the maneuver on her other breast.

She arched up into his palms as he massaged her skin. She’d forgotten the feel of a man holding her, wanting her. His fingers were strumming across her nipples, flicking and circling in a maddening rhythm and she closed her eyes from the intensity of the feelings he was stirring in her.

“Logan, what’s your other specialty?” she breathed into the cool night air.

His mouth descended on her nipples and the warmth of his tongue sent sparks through her body.

He kissed a line up to her ear and whispered, “I’ve been told I'm quite good with my mouth. If you want, I could…” he asked and gestured to her shorts.

She was nodding her head before he even got the question out. She started unbuttoning her shorts and pulling them down and he helped her the rest of the way.

He kissed his way down and positioned himself between her thighs, being especially careful with her sore leg.

He licked her from core to clit, over and over. “Is this where it hurts?” he asked, breathing on her sensitive skin.

She was panting, her body felt like a live flame. “Yes. Oh god, right there.”

He was doing something with his tongue and lips that brought her right to the edge. A little bit of suction and she was soaring, trying desperately to keep her eyes open to see the stars above her instead of the stars behind her eyes.

When she recovered, she smiled at him fondly where he braced himself above her. “You’re the best healer. I’m coming to you with every injury. Who needs doctors?”

He chuckled. “I’m afraid you’ve now experienced my entire repertoire of healing methods. I’d just have to repeat them if you came to me with any additional injuries.”

“Fine by me,” she said, and touched him of her own accord for the first time. She grasped the back of his head and pulled him down for their first kiss.

“Thank god you kissed me. I was afraid this was going to be like Pretty Woman.”

“Are you Julia Roberts or am I?” she asked as she cradled his head on her stomach.

“Me, of course. I’m a stunning brunette with an infectious laugh and a heart of gold.”

She laughed softly and massaged the back of his head. “Yeah. You are, Logan. You really are.”

They fell asleep that way by the fire and when morning came, Veronica did some healing of her own.

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

“Here, I have a present for you,” she held out the brown paper bag to him as he loaded up his car.

“Veronica. You already gave me the best present earlier,” he said with a waggle of his brows.

“Just open it,” she ordered.

“My very own friendship bracelet.” He smiled at her, a mix of love and affection showing on his face. He held up his wrist so she could tie it on. “Well I guess now I won’t forget you. I’ll always remember that cute blonde at camp who liked to play doctor.”

She shoved his shoulder. “Shut up. You better not forget me.”

He pulled her in close. “You’re right, since I’ll be driving down from UCLA every weekend to visit. I hope Mac doesn’t mind my sleeping in your dorm room all the time.”

“She’s cool with it. She says you spent enough nights in our cabin this summer, it’s like having a third roommate. But we should probably do something nice for her to curry favor.”

“I’ll visit the Apple store on my way down on Friday.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He brought her in and kissed her softly. “I gotta go. I have a present for you, too. Stop by the caretaker’s cottage on your way out and find it, okay. Call me later?”

“You got it, loverboy.”

They embraced again and he whispered in her ear, “Thanks for the bracelet. I promise I won’t take it off.”

 

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Veronica asked Mac to wait in the car when they got to the caretaker’s cottage. Mac easily agreed since she was still upset about leaving Garrett, even though he was only a short drive away from Hearst at UCSD. Veronica hopped out and walked slowly around the ruins of the cottage, not noticing any gift. She circled the stones three times before she found her present carved into the center hearthstone of the fireplace.

A heart encircling an inscription: L.E. loves V.M.

She ran her finger gently over the heart and letters. Damn him for making me cry, she thought, as she wiped the tears away.

**Author's Note:**

> Summer lovin' and summer camp go hand-in-hand. Apologies for the sugary sweet ending.


End file.
